Apparatus for sealing containers while crowning under vacuum



J. KANTOR Jan. 13, 1953 APPARATUS FOR SEALING CONTAINERS WHILE CROWNINGUNDER VACUUM 2 SHEETSSHEET l .6 .Nllu

M3 1 1 35. m? I Filed Nov. 14, 1949 I N V EN TOR.

JJQNE'S 627N702? 7 ATTOF/KEK J. KANTOR Jan. 13, 1953 APPARATUS FORSEALING CONTAINERS WHILE CROWNING UNDER VACUUM 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 FiledNOV. 14, 1949 4/11/51? WWW/Zia Patented Jan. 13, 1953 APPARATUS FORSEALING CONTAINERS WHILE CROWNING UNDER VACUUM James Kantor, Chicago,Ill., assignor to The Liquid Carbonic Corporation, Chicago, 111., acorporation of Delaware Application November 14, 1949, Serial No.127,197

Claims. (01. 226-82) The present invention relates to improvements inapparatus for applying crowns or caps to filled containers while thecontainers are being subjected to a vacuum or partial vacuum for the and2 Fig. 8 is a detailed sectional view taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 5.

In the structure illustrated a preferably hollow support l is rotatablymounted on a center post purpose of exhausting such air that remains in6 2. This hollow support I carries a plurality of the top of thecontainer after being filled. crowners 3, only on of which is partiallydis- In the filling of beverage containers after the closed in thedrawings. Each of these crowners container has been filled to thedesired level, a comprises a housing 4 which has mounted therepocket ofair is left at the top of the container in a cylindrical guide 5, whichreceives a cylinin that portion thereof which remains unfilled. dricalhousing 5 of a crowning head. This cylin- This small pocket of air whenthe crown is apdrical housing 6 receives a hollow sleeve 1 which pliedto the container is sealed therein and has is biased in a downwarddirection through the a deteriorating effect on the contents of theconmedium of the coiled spring 8, the lower end tainer particularlywhere such contents is in the of which bears upon the top of a cylindercollar nature of carbonated beverages h as b r l5 9 screw threaded tothe lower end of said sleeve and non-alcoholic beverages. 1. Within thissleeve there is provided a plunger In my co-pending application, filedMay 11, Ill which is biased in a downward direction 1949 and bearingSerial No. 92,546 I have ilt rou h the medium f coi ed spri lustrated astructure wherein the container is The collar 9 at its lower end is Pded Wit adapted to be projected through a throat and in a crowningthroat and to this end the lower a position to receive a crown. Means arproend of the collar is provided with a cylindrical vided for sealingthis throat around the neck of throat or chamber which contains a P fthe container and after this sealing is effected wedge shaped rings l2and I3, the ring l3 being and prior to the time the crown is crimped onformed of a plu y of separate se ments which the container a vacuum iscreated which exare adapted to be contracted about the side of hauststhe air at the top of the container. My the lip of the crown. Thecontracting ring l2 invention more specifically relates to means for isforced downwardly by a cupe ember sealing the neck of the bottle in thethroat of M which receives the lower end l5 of the plunger suchstructure as are illustrated in my above Ill and in turn is moveddownwardly by the identified application, although it will be undownwardmovement of the plun er n, which derstood that my invention isapplicable to struchas a flange It in turn enga in n inturned turesother than the specific structure illustratflange I! at the bottom ofthe sleeve 1. For ed in the above application. sealing the crowningthroat or chamber a suit- It is a further object of my invention toproable gasket or grommet l8 surrounds the lower vide a simplified meansfor drawing a vacuum end 15 of the plunger II]. from above the top ofthe container in the At the side of the collar 9 I provide a slotsufstructure disclosed in said above identified applificiently wide topermit the insertion therecation. through of a crown adapted to beplaced on the For the purpose of disclosing my invention I container.have illustrated an embodiment thereof in the Hereafter for the purposeof clearness the conaccompanying drawings in which: tainer will bereferred to as a bottle.

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of so The crown is deliveredinto position through much of the crowning mechanism as is necessarythis slot from a crown chute l9 disposed at the for illustrating myinvention; side of the crowner.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail of the crowning This receiving slot for thecrown is closed, after throat and accompanying parts illustrated in thecrown has been placed in position, through Fig, 1; the medium of aclosure member being prefer- Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on theline ably a rubber stopper 20 mounted on the face 3-3 of Fig. 2; of thearm 2| pivoted on a pivot pin 22. Coil Fig. 4 is a sectional view takenon the line springs 23 bias the arm in a position to move 4-4 of Fig. 1;the stopper into sealing position and the arm Fig. 5 is a sectional viewtaken on the line is maintained in its open position through the 5-5 ofFig. 1; medium of a suitable roller 24 mounted on a Figs. 6 and 7 arerespectively detailed sectional stem carried on the arm 2|. This rollerconviews taken on the lines 6-6 and 1-1 of Fig. 4, tacts a suitable cammember 25 during the portion of the travel of the crowning mechanism.

For a more detailed description of the construction and operation of theabove parts reference may be had to my co-pending application filed May11, 1949, hearing Serial No. 92,546 heretofore referred to.

Supported, beneath the crowning throat is a crown rest 26 which issupported from the crown throat by means of suitable supporting pins 2!extending through lugs in the crown rest and locked in the ears 28 onthe crown throat by means of screw threads. The lower ends of these pins21 are keyed, as at 27, to suitably support the crown rest and the uppersurface of the top wall of this crown, rest has sealing engagement withthe crowning throat through the medium of a sealing gasket29, The topwall of the crown rest is provided with a crown support 39 on which thecrown is: adapted to be deposited by insertion through the slot in thecrown throat. The crown. rest is provided with a centering bell 3|having. a tapered throat. The centering bell takes the form of anannular ring reciprocally mounted within the crown rest and held inposition by athreaded collar 32 threaded into the crown rest andprovidedwith a shoulder 33 adapted to be engaged by the shoulder 34 on the bell.The bell Si is biased in a downward direction by a coiled spring 35 andinterposed between this vertically movable bell 38 and the bottom baseof the top wall of the crown rest is a sealing ring 36 which issubstantially U shape in cross section and which, when contracted,sealingly engages the neck of the bottle projecting therethrough andinto a position to receive a crown supported on the crown support as.

When a bottle is projected through the ring 36 and into a position toreceive a crown supported on the crown support 39, a vaccum is drawn inthe crown rest chamber, accommodat ing the sealing ring 35, through asuitable port 37 and which tends to raise the bell 3i compressing-thesealing ring 35and contracting the same into sealing engagement. withthe neck of the bottle. At the same time a vacuum is drawn in the crownthroat chamber through a port 38, which throat chamber has previouslybeen sealed b the stopper 2d, so that immediately before the engagementof the lower end i of the plunger with the crown, to hold the same uponthe top of the bottle, all air Within the crown throat chamber isexhausted and such air as iscontained in the top, of the bottle islikewise exhausted. Upon the descent Of the plunger It the crimping ring13 crimps the lip of the crown about the neck of the bottle and thebottle is thoroughly, sealed While still under a vacuum.

Immediately upon the crimping of the crown the vacuum, operating uponthe ring 38, is released thereby releasing the neck of the bottle andimmediately thereafter the vacuum in the crowning throat chamber isreleased, by placing the same in communication with the atmosphere.Before the bottle is removed from, the throat, however, compressed airis momentarily introduced into the throat for blowing out any particleswhich may have occurred therein and also into the sealing ring 35 totend to expand the same and force the tapered throat 3! downwardly.

For controlling the drawing of a vacuum in-the crown throat chamber andin chamber accommodating the sealing ring 36 and the release thereof andthe admission of air under pressure thereto, I provide what may betermed a slide valve, this slide valve consists of a non-rotatable valvering 39 surrounding the hollow support I and supported upon a clampingring 40. This ring 39 is provided with an inlet stem 4| connected by asuitable conduit 42 leading to a source of vacuum. The stem 4| isvconnectedthrough a suitable conduit43 with anannular groove 44 formedin the top face of the ring. The ring also is provided with an annulargroove 45 which in turn is connected by a suitable coupling 46 with aconduit ll leading to a source of air under pressure. Cooperating withthis ring 39 and disposed above the same, is a second ring valve 48which is provided with'a port 49 extending to the face thereof'and inturn communicating through a conduit 50 with the port 31 leading to thesealing ring 35. This ringvalve 48 is also provided with a port 5!extending to the face of the ring valve 48 to which port 5| is connectedby a conduit 52 with the port 38 leading to the crown throat chamber.Thering valve 58 lies face to face with the ring valve 39, but rotatesrelatively thereto and with the crowner.

As the crowner and with it the ring valve 48 rotates, the port 49 isfirst placed in communication with the groove 44 and accordingly avacuum is drawn in the sealing ring 36 to seal the neck of the bottle.Immediately thereafter, however, the port 51 moves into communicationwith the groove 44 and the crown throat chamber is placed incommunication with the source of vacuum, thus drawing a vacuum in thecrown throat chamber. As the parts continue to rotate, the crown issealed onto the bottle and immediately thereafter the port 49 moves intocommunication with groove 53 in the face of the valve ring 39. Thisgroove, through a suitable port 54, communicates with the atmosphere sothat as the port 49 moves out ofcommunication with the groove ldand intocommunication with the groove 53, the source of vacuum isshut oil andthe sealing ring is placed in communication with the atmosphere-therebyrelieving the sealing pressure of the sealing ring on the neck of thebottle. Almost immediately thereafter, the port 51 moves out ofcommunication with the groove 44 and into communication with groove 53and therefore in communication with the atmosphere so that the vacuum isreleasedin the crowning throat chamber.

During the continued rotation of the parts, both ports 49 and 5| move incontinued communication with the groove 45 in the ring 39 which, it isto be noted; is placed in communication with a source ofair underpressure, which air will tend to blow out of the crown. throat chamberany'foam, which may have been drawn therein, and any foreign particles.Likewise the air under pressure will tend to assist the coil spring 35in moving in throat 3| back to its initial. position.

While I have shown one set of ports 49 and 5| in the valve ring 48, itwill be understood; that there are as many of these sets of ports asthere are provided crowning heads of which I have illustrated in thedrawings only one.

It will also be understood that the crowning heads are adapted to rotateabout the center post 2 in an orbit and during such rotation thecrowning operation takes place.

I claim:

1. In combination, a crowning head having a crowning throat providedwith a crown receiving aperture in its side wall and a crown restdisposed beneath and having a sealed connection with said throat andhaving an opening in the top side thereof through which a container neckis adapted to be projected, a crown support on the top wall of said restsurrounding said opening, a reciprocally mounted centering bellsealingly mounted in said rest and havin an opening coinciding with theopening in said top wall, the top wall of said crown rest and the top ofsaid centering bell being spaced to provide a space therebetween, asealing ring disposed in said space for sealing engagement with the neckof the container and means for drawing a vacuum in said space to movesaid bell toward the top wall of said rest and collapse said sealingring to contract its side walls into engagement with the neck of thecontainer surrounded by said ring.

2. In combination, a crowning head having a crowning throat providedwith a crown receiving aperture in its side wall and a crown restdisposed beneath and having a sealing connection with said throat andhaving an opening in the top wall thereof through which a container neckis adapted to be projected, a crown seat on the top of said wallsurrounding said opening, a reciprocally mounted centering bellsealingly mounted in said rest and having an opening coinciding with theopening in said crown rest, the top wall of said crown rest and the topof said centering bell being spaced to provide a chamber therebetween, asealing ring substantially U shape in cross section disposed in saidchamber and sealingly engaging the face of the top wall of said rest andthe face of said centering bell and means for producing vacuum in saidchamber to move said bell toward the top of said rest and collapse saidsealing ring to contract its side walls into engagement with the neck ofthe container surrounded by said ring.

3. In combination, a crowning head having a crowning throat providedwith a crown receiving aperture in its side wall and a crown restdisposed beneath and having a sealing connection with said throat andhaving an opening in the top wall thereof through which a container neckis adapted to be projected, a crown support on the top wall of said restsurrounding said opening, a centering bell sealingly and reciprocallymounted in said crown rest and providing a closure plug for the bottomportion of said crown rest, the top of said centering bell being spacedapart from the top wall of said crown rest to provide a chamber therein,a collapsible sealing ring disposed in said space sealingly engaging theface of the top wall of said rest and the top face of said centeringbell and providing a closure for one side of said chamber, saidcentering bell being movable toward the top of said rest to therebycollapse the top and bottom walls of said sealing ring to contract thering about the walls of the container that may be projectedtherethrough.

4. In combination, a crowning head rotating in a fixed orbit and havinga crown throat provided with a crown receiving aperture in its sidewall, a crown rest disposed beneath and having a sealing connection withsaid throat, means for closing said aperture after a crown has been deposited on said crown rest and a container has been positioned in saidrest to thereby provide a sealed chamber in said crown throat, acentering bell reciprocally and sealingly mounted in said crown rest andformin with the top wall of said crown rest, a crown rest chamber, asealing ring disposed between the top wall of said rest and the top ofsaid centering bell providing a closure member for said crown restchamber and means for substantially simultaneously drawing a vacuum insaid crown rest chamber for contracting said sealing rin about the neckof a container to seal said first mentioned chamber against theatmosphere and drawing a vacuum in said chamber within said crown throatfor exhausting the air therefrom.

5. In combination, a crowning head rotating in a fixed path of traveland having a crown throat provided with a crown receiving aperture inits side wall, a crown rest disposed beneath and having a sealingconnection with said throat, a centering bell reciprocally and sealinglymounted in said rest and spaced apart from the top wall of said rest toprovide between said top wall and the top of the centering bell a crownrest chamber, a sealing ring disposed in said crown rest chamber, saidcrown throat having a chamber formed therein, means for closin saidaperture to seal said crown throat chamber after a crown has beendeposited on said crown rest and a container has been positioned in saidrest, a valve for controlling the admission of vacuum to said crown restchamber, said valve comprising a relatively stationary ring having agroove in the face thereof adapted for communication with the source ofsupply and a second groove in the face thereof communicating with theatmosphere, a rotatable controlling ring having a port connected withsaid crown rest chamber and a second port connected with said crownthroat chamber, said ports extending to the face of said ring andcommunicating during the rotation of said ring first with said vacuumgroove in said stationary ring and then with said atmosphere groove inthe face of said ring.

JAMES KANTOR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,252,881 Calleson Jan. 8, 19182,279,266 Kantor Apr. 7, 1942

